“Just because a judge’s scorecard ends up even, doesn’t mean the judge necessarily thought the fight as a whole was even,” Kizer said. “It could be that a judge has six rounds for each fighter, but the six rounds she gave fighter A, she gave them to him easily and the six rounds she gave fighter B, they were really close rounds. That’s pretty much how it was last night.”

While the points about the problem with the scoring system as generally valid, in that fight that wasn’t the case. Mayweather clearly won at least 10 rounds by a decent margin. This comment combined with his relentless defense of his employees (See: Mazzagatti, Steve) shows you the best and worst of Keith Kizer. On one hand he had a problem admitting when there was a problem. On the other hand he was loyal to his employees, and publicly protected them.

I would love to work for Kizer. No matter how many times I screwed up and was blasted by UFC commentator Joe Rogan, my hypothetical job would be safe.

After Lamont Peterson failed his VADA drug test for exogenous testosterone in May 2012, Kizer had this to say:

BoxingScene.com: If VADA was not involved, a lot of people have asked if this was something that the Nevada Commission would have caught in Peterson’s system?

Keith Kizer: Probably not from the facts that I know. His [testosterone] level, by his doctor, was kept under 4 to 1, which is the lowest level used… some use 4 to 1 and some use 6 to 1. Even VADA uses 4 to 1, but they also use this CIR [carbon isotope ratio] test to detect synthetic testosterone regardless of your level and that’s what happened here.

My understanding is that his level was 3.77 to 1… and I don’t know if that was a purposeful attempt to conceal [his use] by keeping it under 4 to 1 or not. That’s a question for someone else and not for me. But regardless, the CIR was able to catch it without the level being high.

Here Kizer is essentially admitting that the testing that Nevada does is insufficient, though not directly. He is saying that it is possible Peterson was manipulating his testosterone levels, and that Nevada wouldn’t have caught him. Had it not been for VADA, Peterson’s use of testosterone would have gone undetected.

The introduction of commission-led supplemental testing

The October 2013 fight between Timothy Bradley and Juan Manuel Marquez was once in jeopardy due to a disagreement over which supplemental drug testing agency was going to be chosen to perform the drug testing for that fight. That issue was resolved when Top Rank CEO Bob Arum contacted Kizer to run random drug testing through NSAC.

In MMA this testing was proposed as an alternative solution for the GSP vs. Hendricks fight, although ultimately it was rejected. It was also used as a punitive measure against Josh Barnett, as a condition for him to get a license to fight, due to his past drug test failures.

To me, this testing was Kizer’s crowning achievement. Drug testing in combat sports is woefully inadequate. Subjecting fighters to more enhanced and random testing is a good thing. It may end up being the only truly worthwhile thing Kizer ever did in his position as executive director.